“My name is Matthew Epstein, and I want to work for you, Google. Bad.”
So begins a video starring a faux-mustachioed, 24-year-old named Matthew Epstein, in an effort he’d hoped would capture the search giant’s attention but that has managed to do considerably more. Not only did thousands of Silicon Valley decision-makers read about his extreme job-seeking yesterday on TechCrunch and Hacker News, but a quick search – on Google, naturally – shows that outlets as far flung as Poland, Brazil, Germany, and France have picked up the thread, too.
Epstein, who lives in Atlanta, talked with me last night about what inspired him to create the video, why he chose Google over Facebook, and whether his wildly successful viral campaign has produced any job offers yet. Our conversation has been edited for length.
Q: You want a job at Google as a product manager. Are you working now?
A: I stopped working [as a product marketing manager] a month and a half ago. It was an amiable parting. So I started looking for new jobs. That’s when I had the idea.
Q: To create an elaborate site and accompanying “resume video”? How does that happen?
A: I was sitting at my desk hunting for jobs, and getting frustrated because no doors were opening, and I just said aloud, ‘Just please hire me.’ A few minutes later, I found myself at GoDaddy, registering the domain googlepleasehire.me. I sat on it for an hour, then [started to formulate a plan]. I had the time and the savings.
Q: Did the video cost $3,000 as reported?
A: I’d budgeted $3,000, including for bigger marketing stunts I had planned. But to create the site and video cost maybe $1,000. I dragged two friends into it to film it. We were given access to Ivy Hall, an historic house in Atlanta, and we only had four hours to film, which isn’t a lot of time, which is why a lot of my lines were weak. Also, I’m in an historic mansion with people walking around and I’m in boxers and a suit jacket, so it wasn’t very comfortable.
Q: The boxers were an interesting touch, though I suspect the giant moustache will be remembered best. How did you come up with the character?
A: I was just thinking of other viral campaigns that have worked in the past and how to incorporate them. [The character] is kind of a mixture of the Old Spice guy and Chuck Norris and [influenced] by a bunch of other case studies on traditional media. [As for the moustache], no matter who you are, if you have a ridiculously oversize moustache, it’s just funny.
Q; Why Google and not Facebook?
A: I’m really looking for any company whose technology touches millions of people, and I want to work with people who are smarter than I am. I’m never going to grow professionally unless I’m working with someone who is two levels above me, and I really want to learn. Of course, if Apple or Facebook or Amazon offered me a spot instead, I wouldn’t say ‘no, thanks.’ But between Google Voice and Google Docs – a lot of what I use ties back to Google.
Q: How comprehensive was this campaign, and how did it take off so fast?
A: The first day that the site went live [on Tuesday], it did okay. I had 50 tweets and 100 Facebook “likes.” But yesterday morning at 4 a.m., I received an email from someone who told me he’d posted the site to Hacker News and that it had hit number one. He basically told me to watch out. Then TechCrunch saw it and contacted me, and almost immediately, [the ensuing traffic] crashed my server.
After that, I knew my brand and messaging had to stay the same, so as soon as the media took off, I was in character, on Facebook, on Twitter, on YouTube, commenting and tweeting and responding to people.
Q: Some commenters were surprisingly humorless about the whole thing. Was that hard for you?
A: Dealing with the criticisms and the haters took me a few minutes to get used to. I received hilarious hater emails. And I didn’t get [the tech blog] Gizmodo’s criticisms about my acting and the sound quality. I’m not applying to Julliard.
But I’ve never experienced such an overwhelmingly positive response. I’d say three-fourths of the people who reached out to me wished me good luck.
Q: Did it work? Do you have some interviews lined up?
A: I’ve actually had to organize a whole system to keep track of emails. I received 60 job interview offers today. I won’t say names, but I’m really excited about two of the bigger companies that reached out to me. I’ve also heard from tons of startups.
Q: Have you heard from Google?
A: I haven’t, and if I don’t, I’m going to apply online to the job postings, although Google employees – like 30 or 40 of them – have offered to forward my resume to HR. Honestly, at this point, I’m shocked Google hasn’t issued a cease and desist letter.
